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BEST Transport division
The Transportation wing of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST Undertaking) operates a large number of bus lines in the Mumbai metropolitan area. These buses are called BEST or'' ''B.E.S.T bus' ''.' BEST bus serves the entire Mumbai City. It also has operations outside city limits into neighboring Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayandar. In addition to buses, it also operates a ferry service in the northern reaches of the city. The present BEST undertaking was started as an electric supply company which then branched out to provide bus and tram services. In 1964, electric trams were terminated due to high operational costs and poor public support. History 'Origins' The idea of a mass public transport system for Mumbai was first put forward in 1865 by an American company, which applied for a licence to operate a horse-drawn tramway system. Although a licence was granted, the project was never realized, owing to the prevailing economic depression in the city. The end of the American Civil War, during which Bombay had made vast strides in its economy by supplying cotton and textiles to the world market, was the reason for the economic downturn. Later, on 27 November 1871, a notice in the Times of India newspaper put by the Bombay Omnibus Service, proposed to set up a bus service between Malabar Hill and Fort. However, the proposed monthly pass fare of thirty pounds proved to be too expensive, and the tender was promptly abandoned. 'Bombay Tramway Company Limited' In 1873,the Bombay Tramway Company Limited, was given the licence to operate trams in the city. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) was given the right to purchase the company after first twenty years, or after every period of seven years thereafter. In 1874, the ''Bombay Tramways Act was enacted after the contract was formally signed between the Municipality and the Company to start such a tramway service. On 9 May 1874, the company started with Hourse-drawn tram of two kinds on road - those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. Service was introducedon two routes : Colaba to Pydhoni via Crawford Market , and Bori Bunder to Pydhoni , via Kalbadevi with a fleet of 20 cars and 200 horses. The Municipality could have taken over the Company in 1894 as stipulated by the contract, but it waived the right and the Bombay Tramway Company Limited was given extension till 1901. In 1899, the Company applied to run its tram-cars on electricity. It also filed a plea that considering heavy expenditure the company will occur the Municipality should waive its right of taking it over in 1901. But even before the application was disposed of, the Municipality decided to exercise its right to take over the Company. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited (B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd) bought the Bombay Tramway Company Limited. Because it was an unfamiliar vehicle and high fare the tram-car was not at first received with the enthusiasm shown for the railway. The company brought down the fare and made special effort to persuade the public that tram was cheap, fast and smooth. When it closed down in 1905, it had as many as 1,360 horses. 'Formation of The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited' In 1905, a newly formed concern The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited (B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd) bought the Bombay Tramway Company Limited and the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on Mumbai’s roads in 1907 . B.E.S.T. Company Limited had been established in England under English the Companies Act. Its registered office was in London and its Board of Management met there. As a result, the Company had to pay income-tax to the British Exchequer on the profits it earned in India, and as it was registered in Mumbai it had to pay a similar tax in India. To avoid double taxation the Board of Directors closed the Company in London and establishing a new company in Bombay and Company’s capital in pound sterling was converted to correspondingvalue in rupees. 'Electric Tram' B.E.S. & T Co. Ltd placed order for the city's first electric tram-car with the Brush Electrical Company of London. The vehicle arrived in Mumbai in January 1906. The service was formally inaugurated on 7 May 1907 by the Chairman of the Municipality. The inaugural service ran between Municipal Office building and Crawford Market. Regular services started from next day. Unlike the horse drawn tram, electric tram drew praise from public for its comfort and low fare. The Upper Class in the tram-cars was removed after some time. By 1910 the company faced rush hour traffic during office hours and there were not enough trams to cope with the office goers. The company asked for permission to run a triple car and allow standees on tram, the first was reject and later discontinued in 1914. Double-decker electric trams were introduced in September, 1920 to ease rush hour traffic. To handle rush-hour traffic double-decker trams were introduced on Mumbai’s roads in September, 1920. 'Introduction of Motor Bus' In 1913 there was debate in the Mumbai Municipality whether to introduce trolley buses or motor buses to supplement the tramway service in the city. The main factor against its introduction was the high accident rate for a similar service in London. On 10 February 1926 the B.E.S.& T Company (Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited) decided to introduce three routes on experimental basis. On 15 July 1926, 24 single deck buses started operating on three routes - Afghan Church to the Crawford Market , Dadar Tram Terminus to King’s Circle , via Parsi Colony , and Opera House to Lalbag via Lamington Road and Arthur Road . Despite stiff opposition and protests by taxi-drivers, the service ran without a hitch, transporting six lakh (600,000) passengers by the end of that year. The following year the number had increased to 38 lakhs (3.8 million). The trams meanwhile, because of their lower fares, were relegated to being a poor man's transport. By 1927 B.E.S.T. Company had a fleet of 49 buses. In March 1930 concessional rates were introduced on short journeys, which attracted more passengers. Car owners quickly embraced the cheap public transport. In response to the pleas made by the Government and the Bombay Municipal Corporation, the company extended its services to the northern part of the city in 1934. In 1937 double-decker buses were introduced to cope better with the growing traffic. The single-deck vehicle carried 36 passengers, the double-decker could take as many as 58. The first limited bus service in Mumbai, and probably the first in the country as well, started running in 1940 between Colaba and Mahim . 'Formation of BEST Undertaking' One of the terms of the Agreement of 7 August 1905 between the Bombay Municipal Corporation and the Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited (B.E.S.&T. Company) gave the Bombay Municipality the right to buy the Company at the end of forty-two years. It was also laid down that if the right was exercised on 7 August 1947 - the Municipality would have to pay forty lakh rupees as goodwill, in addition to the agreed price of the Company’s assets. The right to buy the B.E.S.T. Company did not cover its Bus Service, which had been granted a permit by the Commissioner of Police under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. However the act did not stop the Bombay Municipal Corporation from starting its own bus service. The Municipality discussed the Matter with Government at Pune. The Government had been contemplating taking over all the road transport in the State. The Mumbai bus transport was not an exception unless it was acquired by the Municipal Corporation. On 21 October 1946, the Municipal Corporation decided to buy the Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company with its bus transport section. On 18 April 1947, the General Manager of the B.E.S.T. Company offered to sell the B.E.S.T. Company along with its bus transport section to the Corporation but required an amount equal to twenty per cent of the value of the bus transport section be paid to the Company as goodwill. But this demand was rejected in view of the Government’s policy of nationalising transport. However, the payment of goodwill was accepted in principle. The Corporation acquired the B.E.S.T. Company total assets for ₹6,35,00,000. On 7 August 1947, the Municipal Corporation took over the B.E.S.&T. Company Ltd and it was Municipalised to form the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking which was again renamed to Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (B.E.S.&T Undertaking) in 1995. BEST celebrates August 7 annually as "BEST Day". Post-independence, BEST increased its fleet from 242 to 582 buses over the next decade. In 1949, it took over the Bandra Bus Company, which used to ply buses in the Western suburbs . The company launched its services in the eastern suburbs in January 1955. The eastern suburbs was serviced by private bus operators. That year, the Undertaking and private operators went to court, with the BEST asking for a complete closure of the private companies. The case dragged on for four years before the Supreme Court of India granted the organization a complete monopoly over bus services in the Greater Bombay area. In 1955, bus services extended to Eastern Suburbs and Luxury Coach services introduced. The tramway system had been running at a loss when the Undertaking took it over. The losses kept on mounting year after year. In 1953, it started closing down the uneconomic routes due to high operational costs and poor public support. In 1964 BEST's long-running tram services terminated. Operations The BEST bus routes are spread city wides and also to neighboring cities. The BEST operates inter-city services to three different areas beyond the municipal limits of Mumbai city, i.e. into the limits of the bordering corporations of Navi Mumbai , Thane & Mira - Bhayander . The BEST supplements suburban rails, which is the mass carrier on Mumbai region. It is for this reason that BEST always gives priority for feeder routes are given more priority than other routes. The BEST uses CNG & diesel powered buses for its operation. Majority of BEST bus consist of ordinary route. Limited bus services which skips minor stops is used on Long routes, high capacity routes and routes that provides connectivity beyond Mumbai city. The buses have Ltd appended to routes number. 5xx Ltd numbered buses connect Navi Mumbai with Mumbai . Some buses like 503Ltd and 504Ltd go beyond Navi Mumbai region to Kharghar and Kalamboli area. Buses number 4xx mostly serve Thane and provide connection to greater Mumbai and buses numbered 7xx Ltd serve Mira - Bhayander region. As of 2011, the BEST runs a total of 4,680 buses, ferrying 4.8 million passengers over 365 routes, and has a workforce strength of 38,000, which includes 22,000 bus drivers and conductors (this comes to an average of 11.2 employees per bus). Besides buses, BEST also operates a ferry service since 1981 in northern Mumbai, across the Manori Creek. The barges operate at regular intervals across the shallow creek linking Manori to Marve. 'Bus Route' The routes operated by the BEST can be broadly classified in the following categories. *'Feeder Routes:' These routes which feed the railway stations either from the residential complexes or business districts. *'East-West Connectors: '''These are the routes, which run East/West, where railways have no role to play and connect the western suburb with the eastern suburb. *'Trunk Routes: ' These routes run South-North through the city and are almost parallel to the railways. *'AS Routes: These route runs on western and eastern express highways, to provide faster services to the commuters. The above routes are further classified into different types depending on the number of stop the bus takes and type of the bus used. Ordinary buses service the Mumbai area and limited bus services are mostly cater to neighboring region of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayander.. '''Fare The BEST have several different options to pay the fares for the bus. *'Single journey '(paper ticket issued by the bus conductor). *'"Daily travel as you like" pass' (issued for a day). *'Bus pass '(Go Mumbai Smart Card). *'Prepaid RFID Smart Card.' The fares vary depending on the type. Paper tickets are valid only for single journey. Commuters also have the option to buy daily pass, distance-wise bus pass values and zonal pass. Students are eligible for discounts on monthly and quarterly passes and senior citizens for discounts on weekly, fortnightly, monthly and quarterly passes. 'Single Journey Fares' Single Journey Fares are valid only for single trip between any two points. They are issued on paper ticket by the bus conductor. All fare payments must be made in cash. The fare depends on distance of the destination. Single Journey fare are not valid for transfers. Ordinary and Limited bus service have same fares. Go Mumbai Smart Card On 2 January 2007, BEST launched multi-application Smart Card called Go Mumbai. Go Mumbai card can be used for storing season tickets, single journey and extension tickets. The fares using bus pass can be paid only by Go Mumbai Smart Card. The Go Mumbai Smart Card was subsequently made valid for travel on Mumbai Suburban Railway (Central line , Western line & Harbour line . The passes fall into two categories - Distance wise bus pass and Zonal pass. 'Distance-wise bus pass values' Distance bus value pass are valid only between two destination (on km basis) on ordinary & limited bus service. Unlimited rides and transfer are available between opted destination except for single rides. The bus pass are valid for travel between any two destinations up to a distance of maximum 15 km. Prepaid RFID Smart Card On 7 August 2012, BEST launched a prepaid RFID Smart Card at the Wadala depot. BEST will introduce the facility at all depots in the city by 21 August 2012. According to a BEST official, "During the journey, commuters can give this card to the conductor, who will deduct the amount as per the fare applicable and return the card containing the balance amount. Details such as balance amount remaining in the card, along with fare and destination will be displayed on the ticket handed to the commuter by the conductor. Commuters can recharge the card in multiples of ₹100 (US$1.82) at any bus depot. Using the photo ID card, a commuter can book as many as six tickets travelling with him. The balance amount will be carried forward whenever the commuter opts to recharge the card". The smart card is similar to ATVM cards used on the Mumbai Suburban Railway. The only difference is that ATVM can be operated completely by the commuter while the RFID smart card requires the conductor to remove the ticket. 'Zonal Pass' Zonal passes can be purchased according to the service type. Except for city limit and suburban limit pass, all other passes are valid for entire BEST bus operational area. Depot and fleet Until the B.E.S.T. company was taken over by the municipality, only the Colaba depot was available for the maintenance of buses and minor repairs. As the fleet grew, the need for more depots was felt. In 1961 the fleet comprised 1045 buses in all. Six new depots were constructed for their maintenance. The Wadala depot was equipped for the maintenance of 300 buses. At this time it was the largest depot in Asia. After this, taking long maintenance experience into account, the authorities decided that no depot should be called on to look after more than 125 to 150 buses. Accordingly, small depots were built at convenient spots in the city and its suburbs.The BEST uses CNG and conventional diesel buses. As of early 2011, the BEST runs a total of 4,680 buses. The fleet comprises Single Decker diesel buses (2059),CNG buses (1962) and 200 double deckers which are Volvo B9TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini 2. All the NAC buses were fully withdrawn by 20 October 2012. All buses are tagged with a route number and its corresponding destination. They are displayed in the front in Marathi and on the side in English. On August 28, 2012, BEST General Manager O P Gupta, admitted that the 285 King Long buses are fake products of an Indian company . In June 2005, in order to cut costs, BEST decided to hire buses from private operators instead of procuring new buses. These buses would look the same as a regular bus, but the maintenance and salaries would be taken care of by the private operators. But, till 2009, no buses have been hired by them. The BEST also plans to install GPS systems on all its buses, to monitor them in realtime. BEST entered into a barter deal with M/s Amnet in 2007 to install three CCTVs in each bus. Amnet also received the rights to advertise in the buses using two LCD screens. In order to keep this bus fleet roadworthy, a two-tier system of maintenance is followed by Transportation Engineering Department. A workshop located centrally at Dadar acts as one work centre. Dadar workshop has a built up area of 27,170 square meters. All unit overhauling, repairing of body damages, tyre cut repairs, plant & equipment installation and repairs, reclamation activities are carried out in the workshop. Every depot is another work center, which provides bus services effectively on every day, carries out preventive maintenance as well as repairs on buses. Depots carry out various maintenance practices such as preventive maintenance, unit replacement, RTO passing, body damage repairs of buses. BEST buses are operated out of the 25 bus depot located in four zones viz. City, Central, Western, Eastern & Suburban zones. Bus tracking and next stop information On 7 August 2012, BEST inaugurated a service that allows BEST commuters to get mobile and internet updates about the scheduled time of arrival of an AC bus at a particular stop. A commuter can type out BEST, followed by the five-digit code of a particular bus stop, and send the message to 56060. The passenger will receive a message, informing him about the expected timings of all the buses next slated to arrive at the stop. The same information is available at www.bestpis.in. A GPS system is installed on all AC buses. LCD screens installed in buses will display the name of the next stop. The GPS system will also be used to track buses and divert them in case of an emergency. BEST Transport Museum The BEST Transport Museum is located at Anik Bus depot at Wadala near IMAX theater. The museum was founded by P D Paranjape, a BEST officer who religiously collected bus tickets, engines, ticket-issuing machines from depots across the city. The museum was set up in 1984 at BEST’s Kurla depot , but was later shifted to Anik depot in 1993. The museum traces the evolution of BEST. It houses mini models of charming old BEST buses and ancient trams. Hand-written placards in Marathi and photographs are also on display for public. Entry to the museum is free. Organisation The company is headed by a General Manager, currently O.P.Gupta. The traffic department is overseen by an 'Assistant General Manager (Traffic Operations)', and assisted by the 'Chief Traffic Manager (Sr.)'. The 'Chief Traffic Manager' oversees the five BEST zones, each headed by a 'Traffic Manager'. Each zone consists of 5 to 6 depots, whose operations are overseen by an 'Assistant General Manager (Traffic Operation)'. The city is divided into 25 depots headed by The Depot Managers. The Traffic Officers, Assistant Traffic Officers and Sr. Asst./Office Asst. assist the Depot Managers. The Bus Running Control (BRC) Officer mans the Traffic Control Room, round the clock. The section has a VHF set and hot lines connecting all the depots and also Police Control, Traffic Police Control, Railways, etc. Category:Bus Systems Category:BEST